Petaling jaya: The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has moved to exclude the honorary president position from the proposed 2026 Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) statute. AFC secretary-general Datuk Seri Windsor Paul John explained that such roles are no longer relevant in modern football governance and are not practised by major football governing bodies, including the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA).
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Windsor stated, "There is no more honorary practice. It used to be there and it was popular, FIFA and AFC also have but now in modern football, the statute has changed," during a meeting held yesterday. This proposal is part of the 94 articles to be presented in the 2026 FAM statute during the FAM Extraordinary Congress scheduled for this Thursday in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
The current FAM honorary president, Tan Sri Hamidin Mohd Amin, was appointed during the extraordinary congress in June last year. Windsor also discussed broader proposed reforms, which include a major restructuring of standing committees. He emphasized that committee leadership should be based on expertise rather than executive committee representation, suggesting that key areas such as stadium management, security, integrity, referees, and medical committees be chaired by subject-matter experts.
In addition, Windsor mentioned that the chairing of the FAM Extraordinary Congress will be determined by the congress itself, with nominations possible from any relevant football body, including FIFA or AFC, on the day of the event. This follows the January announcement in which all FAM Executive Committee members for the 2025-2029 term resigned en masse. The decision was made collectively and voluntarily, focusing on organizational responsibility without personal interests, and aimed to address issues such as the heritage player issue and maintain the integrity of FAM.
Windsor noted that a special team from the AFC, led by AFC deputy secretary-general Vahid Kardany and several consultants, will conduct an assessment before presenting a report with recommendations for improvements to FAM.